The Christie administration is right that this good news, but the governor’s office is overreacting when it portrays it as vindication. Federal officials didn’t say our state got the best deal it could from its no-bid contract with the politically-connected Florida firm, AshBritt Inc. — just that it’s within their rules.

And the state could have done better if it had thought ahead. The Christie administration should have had a cleanup contract in place before Sandy struck, awarded through competitive bidding. That’s what FEMA advises, in the event of an emergency. Had we done that, taxpayers could have gotten a lower rate than what they paid.

How do we know this? After first awarding AshBritt a no-bid contract on the advice of a Christie ally, former Mississippi governor Haley Barbour — now a lobbyist for the firm — state officials went on to hold competitive bidding last January. They ended up hiring two additional contractors that locals can use for the same service, at a fraction of the cost: a tacit acknowledgement that they screwed up.

The state also caused problems for towns by delaying the signing of those competitive contracts. It took the administration 90 days, instead of the 60 days allotted by FEMA. This means that if a town submits receipts for cleanup work done by AshBritt after that 60-day window, FEMA still may not reimburse those costs, simply because of the state’s foot-dragging.

So yes, we should be happy that FEMA has pledged to pay the bulk of the cleanup costs. But let this be a lesson learned for the Christie administration — not a simple victory dance.